The mind tends to go somewhere funny: a figure in a hardhat, possibly drawn by Warner Bros., holding a mineral to the sun and saying, “Good enough, but you’re on thin ice.”
Really, it’s a vital role in a state that has remained the nation’s top source of copper since 1900. Mining isn’t going anywhere. Right now, copper prices are surging, and demand for the mineral is high. In October, a new copper operation opened in Arizona for the first time since 2008.
Arizona is the only U.S. state with an elected state mine inspector as a constitutional office. We’ve had the position since gaining statehood in 1912.
And maybe that’s where some of the humor comes from. The position feels like one of those Arizona spectacles. We’ve got the turquoise McDonald’s, “The Thing?” and a person we elect to inspect mines. In fact, the offices of the state mine inspector and The Thing share a Keurig at the Capitol Building.
It’s for a good reason that the SMI has always been an elected position. During the four-year term, the SMI exclusively serves the workers and populace. The office doesn’t answer to corporate and political pressures.
That said, the position has been absent from the ballot since 2018.
Walter “Les” Presmyk, the incumbent candidate, was appointed last year after the sudden resignation of Paul Marsh, who was appointed in 2021 after the sudden resignation of Joe Hart. In 2022, Marsh ran unopposed and won.
In November, Republican incumbent Presmyk will face off against Democratic challenger Brian Matlock, and for the first time in nearly a decade, voters will get a say in Arizona’s state mine inspector.
We just have to figure out what they do first.
They Inspect Mines
The bulk of it is in the name. At least once every three months, the office of the state mine inspector visits each active underground mine in the state with 50 or more employees. At least once a year, it inspects Arizona’s smaller mines and open-pit or surface operations.
Under policies established by the state Legislature, the inspector checks out the working conditions, machinery, equipment, and entry and exit paths.
The office also investigates workplace accidents, deaths and violations, and is in charge of state-wide mining education. The SMI certifies Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) instructors and runs safety training programs, including new miner training.
What about me?
The chances of being injured while working in a mine are roughly 1.75%. But not for me, because I’m not a miner. I’d approximate that most of us aren’t, though I’d have to crunch the numbers.
But many of us are avid outdoor enthusiasts, and recreationist safety is a major duty of the office of the state mine inspector. Arizona is home to an estimated 100,000 abandoned mine shafts and openings, which have taken at least 35 lives since 1969.
The SMI locates, catalogs, and secures these vacant operations.
The office also takes on reclamation, essentially, making sure that mines are properly decommissioned after they shut down, so that the land is safe, usable, and environmentally secure.
Thus, the State Mine Inspector is just as responsible for the public’s safety as it is for workers’ safety.
The Candidates
Here’s the skinny: There are far more ways to skin a cat than to inspect a mine, and though the SMI holds some administrative rulemaking authority, the job as it pertains to inspections boils down to enforcing rigid protocols.
In a 2018 interview, Arizona PBS asked then-candidate Bill Pierce how much party affiliation matters for an SMI. Pierce said:
“Not really a lot. We’re not a policymaking office. The policies are already set. We have to follow MSHA regulations. … The same safety violation that my opponent would see I would have to see. We would both have to do the same exact thing, who’s most responsible for citing it.”
So there it is. There’s no fringe candidate running on a pro-injury platform (though wouldn’t that be great?). Debates involve a lot of agreeing. One candidate says “Safety is of utmost priority” and the other says, “Hear, hear!”
Differences, then, mostly lie in background, priorities and financing.
Republican candidate Les Presmyk has 44 years under his belt as a mining engineer in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado operations. As the incumbent, he offers some experience in the role.
One of Presmyk’s main priorities going forward is to strengthen and support mining education and research through partnerships with both state schools. Presmyk has said that he sees the position as more of an educational than regulatory role.
Democratic challengr Brian Matlock has also had a long career in heavy industry, though he offers less mining experience than Presmyk. A mechanical engineer, Matlock has experience in forestry, pulp and paper, foundry and mining, and has held various roles from management, design and field service.
Matlock’s campaign focuses on bolstering relationships with rural and tribal communities, expanding collaborative and online efforts to secure abandoned mines across Arizona, and increasing near-miss incident reporting.
Within the department, he plans to streamline and standardize internal operations through a program of best practices: policies and procedures that guide how the job is done within the office.
The candidates seem to see eye-to-eye on most matters, with only a couple points of contention.
Notably, Presmyk has publicly called into question Matlock’s eligibility to run, due to a lack of required direct operational or management experience. However, the Republican candidate did not make an official challenge during the challenge period earlier this year.
Matlock, on the other hand, has pointed out a difference between the candidates’ financing: Presmyk is working with over three times Matlock’s funds, and has received donations from multiple individuals connected to mining operations, opposed to the democrat candidate’s grass-roots campaign.
